Ouray Wedding & Elopement Guide

About Ouray

Ouray History and Location

Ouray Is known as Switzerland of America because of the towering mountains in this high altitude box canyon. Ouray was established in the late 1870s during the gold and silver boom. it was named after Chief Ouray a Ute Indian. The spot is super special because of its Hot Springs Vapor cave and ice. This Yer a wedding and elopement guide will include Ouray County that encompasses Ouray and Ridgway.

Ouray’s Best Wedding Month For:

Want to know when you're more likely to have the wedding of your dreams in the season that you're craving?!?! Well, the weather can be pretty unpredictable in Colorado! I'm here to give you the best possible chance for having an Ouray Ice Climbing wedding or Ouray summer wildflower wedding or an Ouray fall wedding. These months are based on years of what I've witnessed but as you know, every year is different based on the amount of snowfall we get.

Ouray’s Ice Climbing Wedding or Elopement - January
Ouray’s Summer Wildflower Wedding or Elopement - August
Ouray’s Fall Leave Hiking Wedding or Elopement - September

Ouray Wedding and Elopement Ceremony Sites

Ouray Wedding and Rehearsal Venues:

Red Mountain Alpine Lodge - This would be like summer camp! It's only for micro weddings so I would say less than 10 people. it would be great in the summer with all the hiking opportunities or if you're huge Backcountry skier holy cow you love it!
Chipeta Solar Springs Resort & Spa - This is a great spot for a resort wedding with a low key vibe. You can get married and have your reception at this site as well as stay there. it's beautiful and relaxing at the chippy. I just love it there!
Top of the Pines - If you would like a great view of Mount Sneffels then the top of the Pines is perfect. It's slightly rustic because you have to drive on a dirt road to get there but you can make your wedding anything you want. It's a build your own ceremony and reception site. You can really dream as big as you want and the views never get old!
Ridgway State Park - This is a perfect spot for an outdoor wedding! you can get married at the Overlook of the reservoir with the San Juan Mountains in background. then have your reception next to the river!

Ouray Ceremony Sites:

The best part about the San Juans is how Wild and big the mountains are. getting married at any spot you find beautiful is pretty perfect out in Ouray. Here's a list of four suggestions that I could think of from the top of my head that I just love. It's a whole new way to say you got married at the courthouse.

Yankee Boy Basin
Blue Lake
Red Mountain Pass
Courthouse Mountain

Ouray Stays, Activities, and Festivals

Ouray Places to Stay:

There is plenty of campsites free your enjoyment if that's your thing for your wedding you've got plenty to choose from. if you're looking for more of an in-between so you can take a shower check out Basecamp 550. If you want the best pillows in town I probably pick Chipeta! and if you want to be really close to the ice then Box Canyon Lodge is perfect. as always another great option is to rent a house in the canyon or Ridgway.

Ouray Activities:

The very best thing about being in a cute little mountain town is that you have full access to everything outdoors. The main problem is going to be wanting more days in the mountains to do all the fun activities you want to fit in. I challenge you to see how many of these can you fit in over one weekend????

Hot tubbing
- There are a few around this way to choose from! You’ve got Orvis Hot Springs if you want some great gardens and adventure, cause it’s clothing optional. If you're looking for a more pool vibe, Ouray Hot Springs is an awesome spot. If the weather is so windy and horrible and you still want to go dipping, then you gotta check out Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa because they have a vapor cave.
Hiking
- There is so much hiking in Ouray County to amazing Alpine Lakes and mountain tops. There's also a ton of hiking from Ouray around town, the perimeter Trail is pretty awesome if you don't want to get in the car.
Mountain Biking
- The views from these mountain bike trails will have you dreaming every other day.
Fly Fishing
- The Uncompahgre River is a perfect place for fishing!
Ice Climbing
- If you're looking to try it out once or if you want to spend almost 24/7 there's plenty of ice climbing in Ouray to keep you busy.

Ouray Festivals:

While festivals are a fantastic town celebration, sometimes they can make wedding planning a bit difficult because of lodging, parking, and the day of transportation. It's always best to know what festivals or celebrations are happening in the town that you choose to have your wedding so you can plan accordingly. Part of the planning accordingly may be that your guests partake in the festivals! I mean how cool would it be to have your wedding day and then go to Oktoberfest with all your guests the next day!